UM EDUCATOR SAYS SOVIET BLOC LURING BEST LATIN STUDENTS

Placing education squarely in the political arena, a prominent local educator Tuesday implored a group of governors to offer more scholarships to disadvantaged foreign youths who might otherwise be lured by free schooling in communist countries.

Ambler Moss, dean of the University of Miami's Graduate School of International Studies, told the Southern Governors' Conference that the Soviet Union and other communist countries have been offering thousands of full scholarships to the "best and the brightest" among Latin American and Caribbean youths.

"The United States has done nothing to reach the same group of economically disadvantaged youths," Moss said during a wide-ranging discussion on the socio-economic importance of "global" education. "It presents a security problem in the long run and an orientation away from democracy."

In a 90-minute session during the second day of the 51st annual governors' conference at the Pavillon Hotel, Moss and three other educators stressed the need to retool the educational system to meet the needs of a world community.

The suggestions for educational reform ranged from a back-to-basic focus on such subjects as foreign language and geography to the creation of "internationalized" programs in high schools throughout the nation.

Moss, a former U.S. ambassador to Panama, stressed the need for scholarships to help educate disadvantaged foreign youths. He said communist countries now offer 10,000 such scholarships to Latin American youths, including about 1,000 to Panamanians alone.

"They are serious investors in the youth of the Americas," Moss said.

He said other states must follow the lead of Florida, which has appropriated money for such scholarships in each of the past two years. The Legislature allocated $256,000 in 1985 for 22 scholarships, he said.

Moreover, Moss said, the private sector also has become involved, forming the Florida Inter-American Foundation to raise money for additional scholarships.

"This is a terribly valuable experience," said Moss. "It puts us in touch with the future leaders of these countries."